Bluetooth device developer CSR recently showed the potential for Bluetooth low-energy technology during a demonstration of its BlueCore7 devices during a meeting of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) Medical Working Group in San Francisco, CA. The demonstration consisted of a set of weighing scales and a temperature sensor connected wirelessly via Bluetooth low-energy technology to a cellular telephone. CSR is committed to driving the development of Bluetooth low-energy products, in particular for medical applications. The Bluetooth SIG expects final adoption of Bluetooth low-energy technology by the first quarter of 2009.

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The demonstration showed how two Bluetooth low-energy devices can transfer data to the handset without any prior configuration or pairing. The cellular telephone was modified for the purpose of the demonstration to incorporate the BlueCore7 chip and a Java API and MIDlet application to provide a simple user interface for display of received information from the Bluetooth devices. In operation, when a button was pushed on the weighing scales, the Bluetooth radio in the handset woke up and sent a short burst of data to the handset. The temperature sensors transmit data continuously. The phone, once receiving the data from the two Bluetooth devices, displayed the name and values from the sensors simultaneously. Each time a new value was sent, the phone updated its display.

According to CSR's Standards Architect Robin Heydon, "This is a key demonstration for the rollout of Bluetooth low energy. CSR’s connectivity center incorporates multiple technologies along with standard Bluetooth and we believe this is set to be the future of mobile handset architecture. We have now demonstrated Bluetooth low energy working in a handset in a real life application. Bluetooth low energy opens up many new markets and will bring wireless connectivity to countless devices that previously discounted it due to power concerns."

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